Location

Description

Since 2007, the Montgomery County History Conference has been a venue for people of all ages and backgrounds—civic leaders, students, museum professionals and volunteers, history buffs, genealogists, and the general public—to explore and celebrate the many facets of our past that shape our community to this day. Hosted annually by Montgomery History, this day-long gathering includes workshops, presentations, and panel discussions covering a wide range of topics within the realm of local history.

This year’s conference will open with a history of Metro and the Red Line’s development in the county. It will be followed by breakout sessions featuring such varied topics as Thurgood Marshall’s early civil rights victory in Montgomery County, the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, free African American communities’ involvement in the Underground Railroad, the role of local leaders in launching the American Revolution in 1774, and an overview of local development during the explosive 1950s. An oral history training session for beginners and a panel discussion on Muslim experiences in the County will also be offered. For the first time, Montgomery College students will present on postwar immigration in Montgomery County. The closing session will feature world-renowned Smithsonian anthropologist Doug Owsley and his forensic excavation of the Chesapeake.